7 Ideas for Homemade Vegan Compound Butter
Your grilling bread turned out ultra-fluffy but tastes bland? You accidentally grabbed those vegan sausages that are crunchy but have a weird aftertaste? And wait – did we forget to salt the pasta water or why does the pasta salad taste like absolutely nothing today? All these problems can be solved with one "secret ingredient": herb butter!
Saltiness, fat, and fresh herbs bring flavor to your plate in no time. Sure, you could grab a ready-made vegan herb butter from the supermarket. But we promise you: homemade tastes a hundred times better, plus you know exactly what's in it and can perfectly adapt the butter to your taste – no garlic? Different herbs? A bit sweeter or spicier? Everything's possible! And why stop at classic herb butter anyway? We immediately got to work on six more ideas so everyone can find their perfect grilling butter match.
Our seven vegan grilling butter variations are:
➝ Garden Herb Butter
➝ Garlic Lemon Butter
➝ Tomato Basil Butter
➝ Porcini Thyme Butter
➝ Carrot Paprika Butter
➝ Curry Date Butter
➝ Tzatziki Butter
Vegan Butter or Margarine – What's Actually the Difference?
In case you're wondering what we mean by "vegan butter": that's any kind of plant-based butter, so both vegan butter alternatives and classic margarine. The difference is mainly in taste and consistency. Vegan butter alternatives often taste more butter-like and have a firmer consistency, while margarine is usually a bit softer. For our grilling butter ideas, both work perfectly – just use what you like and have at home.
But Does This Work Outside of Grilling Season Too?
Of course! Even though we're presenting the butter as grilling butter today, you can use it all year round as a spread or snack (just kidding!). On fresh rolls for breakfast, with boiled potatoes, or simply as a dip for veggie sticks – the possibilities are endless.
But if it actually is grilling season right now, definitely check out our BBQ recipes page. You'll find even more inspiration for your next grilling session there – from vegan garlic bread to grilled bread corners to vegan grilling cheese.
7 Ideas for Vegan Compound Butter
Ingredients
For the Garden Herb Butter:
- 125 g (0.5 cup) vegan butter (room temperature)
- 30 g (1 oz) fresh herbs of choice (e.g., chives, parsley, dill, cress)
- lemon zest
- salt
- pepper
For the garlic lemon butter:
- 125 g (0.5 cup) vegan butter (room temperature)
- 1 garlic bulb
- olive oil
- lemon zest
- salt
- pepper
For the tomato basil butter:
- 125 g (0.5 cup) vegan butter (room temperature)
- 3 sun-dried tomatoes
- 5 g (0.25 oz) basil
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- balsamic glaze
- salt
- pepper
For the mushroom thyme butter:
- 125 g (0.5 cup) vegan butter (room temperature)
- 200 g (7 oz) porcini mushrooms (or other mushrooms)
- 1 shallot
- 1 tsp herbs de Provence
- olive oil for frying
- lemon zest
- salt
- pepper
For the carrot paprika butter:
- 125 g (0.5 cup) vegan butter (room temperature)
- 1 carrot
- maple syrup
- smoked paprika powder
- salt
For the curry date butter:
- 125 g (0.5 cup) vegan butter (room temperature)
- 6 dates
- 2 tsp curry powder
- fresh lemon juice
- cinnamon
- salt
- pepper
For the tzatziki butter:
- 125 g (0.5 cup) vegan butter (room temperature)
- 0.25 cucumber
- 10 g (0.33 oz) dill
- 1 garlic clove
- lemon zest
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
For the vegan garden herb butter: Bring vegan butter to room temperature so it becomes softer. Finely chop fresh herbs of your choice and add to the soft butter along with some lemon zest and mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour until firm again.
For the garlic lemon butter: Bring vegan butter to room temperature so it becomes softer. Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (fan). Remove outermost dry layers of garlic bulb. Cut garlic bulb in upper quarter so the bottom part (where the roots were) stays intact and garlic cloves stick together. Brush cut side of garlic with oil and loosely wrap bulb in foil. Bake for approx. 30 minutes. Let cool until you can touch it, then press cloves out of bulb and mash with a fork into a garlic paste. Mix with soft butter and season with lemon zest, salt, and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour until firm again.
For the tomato basil butter: Bring vegan butter to room temperature so it becomes softer. Finely chop sun-dried tomatoes and basil, then add to soft butter along with tomato paste, and nutritional yeast and mix. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour until firm again.
For the mushroom butter: Bring vegan butter to room temperature so it becomes softer. Finely dice mushrooms and shallot. Heat some olive oil in a pan and sauté chopped ingredients together until mushrooms are lightly browned. Season with herbs de Provence, lemon zest, salt, and pepper to taste. Add mushroom mixture to soft butter and mix well. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour until firm again.
For the carrot paprika butter: Bring vegan butter to room temperature so it becomes softer. Coarsely grate carrot and sauté in a small portion of vegan butter in a pan for approx. 5 minutes. Cut grilled bell peppers small and briefly add to pan, cooking together for 1–2 minutes. Season with maple syrup, paprika powder, and salt to taste. Add mixture to soft butter and mix. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour until firm again.
For the curry date butter: Bring vegan butter to room temperature so it becomes softer. Remove pits from dates and finely chop. Add to soft butter along with curry powder, fresh lemon juice, a pinch of cinnamon, salt, and pepper and mix. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour until firm again.
For the tzatziki butter: Bring vegan butter to room temperature so it becomes softer. Grate cucumber and then thoroughly squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Finely chop dill and grate garlic clove. Add everything to soft butter and mix. Season with lemon zest, salt, and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour until firm again.
